USCIS has informed us that as of November 20, 2009 it had approved sufficient H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of 20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap (recall: there are 65,000 H-1B numbers available each fiscal year for individuals holding the equivalent of a four year U.S. year and another 20,000 for those holding U.S. master degrees). Since this extra group of 20,000 visas has now been filled, any H-1B petitions filed on behalf of an alien with an advanced degree will now count toward the general H-1B cap of 65,000, which is very close to being reached. In fact, it is predicted that this second cap will be reached by early December of 2009.  There’s one exception for this rule: for citizens of Chile and Singapore, because of the special allotment set aside for them based on treaty agreements, there are extra numbers available.

This latest H-1B number update means that any private ("non cap-exempt") employer even thinking about filing a new H-1B cap subject petition needs to file that petition immediately. Remember: once the H-1B cap subject numbers run out in December, any employer wishing to hire a prospective H-1B worker won’t be able to do so until April 1, 2010, and that prospective employee won’t be able to start working until October 1, 2010.

Whoever said our immigration laws were employer friendly or in tune with a global business world?